Traveling contacting device



March 2l, 1950 B. w. BENBOW 2,501,203

TRAVELING CONTACTING DEVICE Filed Jan. 50, 1945' IN VEN TOR. ur/' W en bo W Patented Mar. 21, 195

UNITED STATES iiih'i 3 Claims.

ThisA invention relates generally to traveling contacting devices suitable for use with trolley wires.

In Benbow 2,255,874ther'e' is discloseda traveling contacting device Ina-king use of endless series of' conductor elements which are adapted to make continuous electrical connection with a trolley wire. in practice the conductor elements can be carried by a trolley box or' like body, which also carries one or more bus bars disposed in spaced parallel relationship with the trolley wire. The seriesoil conductor elements is arranged to pass between the bus bars' and the trolley wire, and is also tracked upon apair of wheels. A traveling connecting device of this type is particularly adapted' for use with av trolley wire having an insulating sheath toprotect the same against accidental contact, with one side of' the sheath having spaced recesses extending' through the same whereby the conductor elements may enter the recesses for electrical contact with the wire.`

Itis an object of theI present invention toy provide anL improved traveling contacting device of the above character having improved; means for tracking the series of conductor elements within the trolley box...

A further object ofthe invention is to provide means serving to prevent excessive lateral sagging or misalignrnent of the conductor elements when the device is operated in a position other than vertical, as for example in a horizontal position.

A further object oi the invention is to improve upon the construction of the conductor elements and the means employed for connecting the same g together.

Additional objects of the invention will appear from the following description in which the preferred embodiment has been set forth in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

Referring to the drawingl Figure l is a side elevational View, partly in cross-section, showing a traveling contacting device incorporating the present invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along 1;

the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure l.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawing consists of a traveling contacting device lll which r is adapted to operate in conjunction with a trolley wire assembly Il. The trolley wire assembly in this instance consists of a trolley wire I2 surrounded by a protective sheath I3 of insulating material. such as natural or synthetic rubber.x

body 25 which can be formed of suitable molded insulating material, and split to form the two h aives or sections 26a, 2llb. Carried by this body there is an endless series oi articulated conductor elements 2l. Each` of these elements consists of an outer tooth-like portion Zia, the end face ofl which is notched or groove'd as indicated at 25h' to facilitate seating upon the wire l2. The base portion 2 lfc of each elementis providedy with a slot or recess 22'.

The means for connectingadjacent elements 2'I prefemtiy consists of links' 23 which have' their ends pivotally connected to elements 2l by the pivot pins 2. The end` portions ci' links 23 are accommodated' within the slots 2.2'.

The body 2li also carries bus bar means for` making continuous electrical contact with the elements 2l'. In this instance such means includes a pair of aligned bus bars 25 made of suitable material such as hard copper or bronze, and having pivotal connections 2l to the i.. levers 28. L levers 28 are carried by the common pivot pin 2S, and are urged by compression spring 3l in a direction to urge the bus bars 25 upwardly. Stranded conductors $3 are also shown for electrically connecting bus hars Z5 to the terminal plate til. The conductor elements 2i are adapted to pass between the bus bars 2E and the trolley wire l whereby the bus bars are continuously electrically connected with the trolley Wire through the elements 2 l. It will be noted that the base portions 2 lc oi elements 2 I have nat faces 2 Id, for good sliding contact with the bus bars 26. The elements 2l are also tracked upon a pair of spaced sprocket Wheels 36. These wheels are suitably journaled to the body 2l) as by providing them with roller bearings 3l to the shafts 38. The teeth 39 on these sprocket Wheels are shaped and dimensioned so that they are accommodated within the slots or recesses 2l, intermediate the adjacent links 23. Thus the sprocket wheels not only serve the purpose of tracking the elements 2|, but in addition the teeth of the sprockets retain the elements 2| against excessive lateral misalignment. The end portions 26a of the bus bars 26 are preferably forked or bifurcated as illustrated whereby each slot thus provided serves to accommodate the peripheral portion of the adjacent sprocket. In addition each end portion 26a is formed to provide the curved surface 26h to facilitate transfer of an element 2| from a sprocket to the adjacent bar 26 or from a bar 26 to an adjacent sprocket wheel.

In order to retain the contacting device I in operating position, two pairs of flanged Wheels 4| are provided, and are adapted to operate along the iiat trackways 42 provided by the backing strip I4. Wheels 4| are journaled to the upper ends of bars 43, which in turn are secured to the sides of the body. Members 4| which are shown attached to the ends of one of the shafts 38, represent means whereby the contacting device I0 can be moved to different operating positions in accordance for example to the movements of a crane carriage.

Operation of the device described above is as follows: Assuming that the contacting device |0 is operatively positioned with respect to the trolley assembly as shown in Figure 1, a plurality of the elements 2| are at all times in contact with the wire I2, and with the bus bars 26. As the contacting device is moved the sprocket wheels 36 rotate, and assuming that the direction is toward the left as viewed in Figure 1, the tooth-like portions 2| enter the recesses I6 at the advancing end of the device, and leave at the trailing end. While the elements 2| are carried by the sprocket wheels 36 the sprocket teeth 39 are well within each element, and therefore the elements are retained against excessive lateral I claim:

1. In a traveling contactor device for a trolley wire, a body, at least two aligned bus bars mounted upon the body for movement parallel to and in spaced relation to the wire, an endless series of articulated conductor elements mounted for movement between the bus bars and the wire to provide a conducting path therebetween, and wheels located adjacent the ends of the bus bars for tracking said elements, the end portions of the bus bars adjacent said wheels being bifurcated to accommodate the peripheral portions of the wheels.

2. In a traveling contactor device for a trolley wire, a body, bus bar means carried by the body and adapted to move parallel to and in spaced relationship to the wire, a series of articulated conductor elements mounted for movement between the bus bar means and the wire to provide a conducting path therebetween, each conductor element having a tooth-like portion with an end face for contacting the wire and also a longitudinally slotted base portion with an end face for sliding contact with the bus bar means and which is interrupted by said slot, and a sprocket wheel journaled to the body and over which the articulated conductor elements are tracked, the slots in said base portions of said elements serving to accommodate the teeth of the sprockets.

3. In a traveling contactor device for a trolley wire, a body, bus bar means mounted on the body for movement parallel to and in spaced relation to the wire, an endless series of articulated conductor elements mounted for movement between the bus bars and the wire to provide a conducting path therebetween, and sprocket wheels located adjacent the ends of the bus bar means for tracking said elements, the end portions of the bus bar means adjacent said wheels being bifurcated to accommodate the peripheral portions of the wheels, the conductor elements having recesses to accommodate the teeth of the Sprocket Wheels.

BURTIS W. BENBOW.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date BenboW Sept. 16, 1941 Number 

